Rx % correct

[fldoctorgirl]

I'm an M2 and started doing Rx this semester as I prep to start UWorld. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or input about how I should interpret the results; it tells you how you do relative to other people on the same set of questions, but I still don't know what to make of it.

I've been going through Zanki since M1, with a slight hiatus from the end of M1 until M2 started. Other than that, I haven't reviewed any content outside of learning it for the first time in my blocks. Some questions that I miss on Rx are because I haven't learned about the drug or whatever yet, but sometimes I just find the questions to be super nitpicky. They have a formula for score prediction, but it seems kind of inaccurate.

Anyways, just not sure what % correct or whatever is okay to be at for this point. Not aiming for a crazy score, 230 is the goal but I would be happy in the 220s. If anyone has any personal anecdotes to share, I would appreciate it!

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[neurodjent]

I'm an M2 and started doing Rx this semester as I prep to start UWorld. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or input about how I should interpret the results; it tells you how you do relative to other people on the same set of questions, but I still don't know what to make of it.

I've been going through Zanki since M1, with a slight hiatus from the end of M1 until M2 started. Other than that, I haven't reviewed any content outside of learning it for the first time in my blocks. Some questions that I miss on Rx are because I haven't learned about the drug or whatever yet, but sometimes I just find the questions to be super nitpicky. They have a formula for score prediction, but it seems kind of inaccurate.

Anyways, just not sure what % correct or whatever is okay to be at for this point. Not aiming for a crazy score, 230 is the goal but I would be happy in the 220s. If anyone has any personal anecdotes to share, I would appreciate it!

I did about half of UsmleRx throughout 2nd year and had 69% correct. Ended up with 244 on step. I didn't like that qbank and started to not take it too seriously. Just learn from it, keep doing Zanki, and trust Uworld over everything else.

 

[libertyyne]

dont pay attention to RX score predictions. Just do the questions and move on. RX questions were written by students and they are of poor quality. Rarely do they have second or third order thinking and are mosting testing if you remember small details from FA.

 

[Type2Fiber]

I like Rx, but use it for what it is - a way to learn the nitpick details in FA

I don't know a specific formula to evaluate by, but 230 is about average, so if your Rx average is close to the average for all users then it seems reasonable to assume you're on the right track at this point, given you've not done uworld or any other qbank

 

[fldoctorgirl]

dont pay attention to RX score predictions. Just do the questions and move on. RX questions were written by students and they are of poor quality. Rarely do they have second or third order thinking and are mosting testing if you remember small details from FA.

This has been my experience. I feel like you either know the random fact they are asking about or you don't, and if you don't the info in the question stem usually isn't super helpful to reason your way to the answer.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone!

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

QBank performance seems highly dependent on when in the course of your preclinicals you do them.

I started Rx alongside of Zanki last summer and my averages improved throughout the course of M2.

They began in the 40-50s and ended up in the 70-80s. I managed to finish the Q-Bank by the end of this holiday ~72% overall w/o any redo's (which does change your average by the way)

Started UWorld a few days ago and my first few blocks have been ~80%. Not stellar, but better than where I was and that's fantastic.

The important thing is the trend. My #1 priority is to not miss questions on topics I have learned already and to not make stupid mistakes by rushing or misreading.

It's OK to miss a question because you didn't know the answer, you can't know everything. However, there is little excuse for missing things you know cold just because you were careless or lazy. Keeping that under wraps will give you a 5-10% boost in Qbank scores guaranteed.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

QBank performance seems highly dependent on when in the course of your preclinicals you do them.

I started Rx alongside of Zanki last summer and my averages improved throughout the course of M2.

They began in the 40-50s and ended up in the 70-80s. I managed to finish the Q-Bank by the end of this holiday ~72% overall w/o any redo's (which does change your average by the way)

Started UWorld a few days ago and my first few blocks have been ~80%. Not stellar, but better than where I was and that's fantastic.

The important thing is the trend. My #1 priority is to not miss questions on topics I have learned already and to not make stupid mistakes by rushing or misreading.

It's OK to miss a question because you didn't know the answer, you can't know everything. However, there is little excuse for missing things you know cold just because you were careless or lazy. Keeping that under wraps will give you a 5-10% boost in Qbank scores guaranteed.

According to the UWorld conversion that a lot of people use an 80% on UWorld is like a 260... so yeah that is stellar

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

According to the UWorld conversion that a lot of people use an 80% on UWorld is like a 260... so yeah that is stellar

I worry about putting too much faith in that because it ignores the stamina factor, which is huge for me personally.

I do QBanks in blocks which means 40-120 questions max at once per one single day. Long exams might mean deterioration in performance come the end. Ideally at the end of dedicated you’d have trained stamina and the pressure of the real STEP will combat that.

I’m keeping my faith in the NMBEs in that regard so we’ll see how the first one goes soon.

Best of luck everyone.

 

[libertyyne]

Those numbers are also not necessarily true considering if you are doing zanki , it covers uworld questions a lot of the time.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

Those numbers are also not necessarily true considering if you are doing zanki , it covers uworld questions a lot of the time.

Another reason not to put faith in percentages and predictors. It's just false comfort as far as I am concerned at this point.

 

[treatem-and-streetem]

Personally as long as I am averaging 70%ish I am happy on a q bank first time through. Its more important that you review your missed than what your percentage is

 

[Gilakend]

I'm an M1 and my overall average is like 50%, recently it's been closer to 60%. Slowly going up. I feel like while I'm definitely learning a ton the main reason my score is going up a little is because I'm learning how to tackle questions better.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

QBank performance seems highly dependent on when in the course of your preclinicals you do them.

I started Rx alongside of Zanki last summer and my averages improved throughout the course of M2.

They began in the 40-50s and ended up in the 70-80s. I managed to finish the Q-Bank by the end of this holiday ~72% overall w/o any redo's (which does change your average by the way)

Started UWorld a few days ago and my first few blocks have been ~80%. Not stellar, but better than where I was and that's fantastic.

The important thing is the trend. My #1 priority is to not miss questions on topics I have learned already and to not make stupid mistakes by rushing or misreading.

It's OK to miss a question because you didn't know the answer, you can't know everything. However, there is little excuse for missing things you know cold just because you were careless or lazy. Keeping that under wraps will give you a 5-10% boost in Qbank scores guaranteed.

Thank you for this comment!

I have noticed that my weakest areas are in physio (which was M1 curriculum for us, and overall I understand M2 material better). I think once I do some review of that content, I should be doing better.

 

[ChopinLiszt]

Rx is rough. Mostly good for building the endurance to get through long blocks of terrible questions 😉 uworld is much better. Mind you I don’t do super well on either, but uworld questions are just much better and more like the nbme blocks I’ve seen.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I worry about putting too much faith in that because it ignores the stamina factor, which is huge for me personally.

Highly underestimated and underappreciated factor. You could know all the facts but if you can't keep them straight because you're mentally fatigued, it means nothing.

---------------

To OP, I beg that you don't put too much weight into the percentage. I know this hard because a percentage is what our lives have been boiled down to but these Q banks are learning tools, not assessment.

Oh and definitely get in at least 1 or 2 nbme's so you see how they write those questions. They are moderately different from UWorld format.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Highly underestimated and underappreciated factor. You could know all the facts but if you can't keep them straight because you're mentally fatigued, it means nothing.

---------------

To OP, I beg that you don't put too much weight into the percentage. I know this hard because a percentage is what our lives have been boiled down to but these Q banks are learning tools, not assessment.

Oh and definitely get in at least 1 or 2 nbme's so you see how they write those questions. They are moderately different from UWorld format.

Thanks! I'll definitely be doing the NBMEs, just not quite yet haha

 

[hungrydoc710]

Best initial diagnostic NBME to take?

 

[bigfootisreal]

Don’t stress Rx questions at all. I used it pre-UW as well and felt like the questions were harder than UW. What Rx boils down to is basically throw a dart at first aid and whatever sentence it hits will be made into a question. It’s a very helpful method to go through FA and to get in the groove of doing questions every day while working on your timing. Keep pushing you got this!

 

[throwaway1000000]

Don't think Rx is as easy as people say it is especially if you only select the medium and hard difficulty questions.
I think Rx was extremely useful for me. Lots of questions that were solid questions. Sure, Uworld are somewhat better in quality, but you will increase your score if you do all the rx questions and understand them.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Best initial diagnostic NBME to take?

Seeing as they are free now start with 16 or 17. 19 is ok but the curve is brutal. Personally 22-24 I thought were the most like the real thing, along with UWSA 2, so I would do those closer to your test date. I would recommend doing 1 or 2 of the old ones that are now free (they have explanations), and then all the 18, 20, 21, UWSA 1, 22 and then 23, 24, UWSA 2 within 2 weeks of your test date.

As to the OP, Rx is complete garbage.

 

[hungrydoc710]

Seeing as they are free now start with 16 or 17. 19 is ok but the curve is brutal. Personally 22-24 I thought were the most like the real thing, along with UWSA 2, so I would do those closer to your test date. I would recommend doing 1 or 2 of the old ones that are now free (they have explanations), and then all the 18, 20, 21, UWSA 1, 22 and then 23, 24, UWSA 2 within 2 weeks of your test date.

As to the OP, Rx is complete garbage.

I don't think Rx is bad tool to get a good FA pass thru along with crushing anki, before hitting UW hard during dedicated.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I don't think Rx is bad tool to get a good FA pass thru along with crushing anki, before hitting UW hard during dedicated.

Having been through the process and having done Rx along with all those other resources I disagree. I didn't learn anything from Rx.

 

[hungrydoc710]

Having been through the process and having done Rx along with all those other resources I disagree. I didn't learn anything from Rx.

Can you expand on this point?

Rx, while quite nitpicky, basically makes you memorize FA, a very powerful tool for studying for boards.
How can this not be a helpful factor before doing UW?

In my opinion doing duke deck pathoma + having a good pass of FA will allow you to really understand UW questions/explanations instead of jsut reading to read.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

In my opinion doing duke deck pathoma + having a good pass of FA will allow you to really understand UW questions/explanations instead of jsut reading to read.

Have you done any of UWorld?

I never read FA. Not once. Zanki was my main study tool and then I used FA as a reference source (control F'ing a PDF version) going through practice questions from UWorld and NBME's. Rx simply does not present the info in the way you have to think about it, it's very much a FA minutia bank which isn't similar to UWorld or the real thing at all.

Perhaps others who have already taken Step 1 will have differing opinions. In my experience I found the time spent on Rx to be pretty useless.

 

[hungrydoc710]

Have you done any of UWorld?

I never read FA. Not once. Zanki was my main study tool and then I used FA as a reference source (control F'ing a PDF version) going through practice questions from UWorld and NBME's. Rx simply does not present the info in the way you have to think about it, it's very much a FA minutia bank which isn't similar to UWorld or the real thing at all.

Perhaps others who have already taken Step 1 will have differing opinions. In my experience I found the time spent on Rx to be pretty useless.

I have - only like 100 questions of bchem/pharm/micro (65% overall).

Was trying to get thru as many Rx Q's (1700 now) then transition. Was also waiting to finish all the dekcs I've been working thru before starting UW hard. I have like 100 left in zanki pharm and lolnotacop, and <200 in Duke's pathoma deck.

I was going to take my block break to reset, take NBME 17, then start UW 80 Q's per day random timed.
And keep up with my reviews as well obviusly.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I have - only like 100 questions of bchem/pharm/micro (65% overall).

Was trying to get thru as many Rx Q's (1700 now) then transition. Was also waiting to finish all the dekcs I've been working thru before starting UW hard. I have like 100 left in zanki pharm and lolnotacop, and <200 in Duke's pathoma deck.

I was going to take my block break to reset, take NBME 17, then start UW 80 Q's per day random timed.
And keep up with my reviews as well obviusly.

Your card routine looks solid, but I would suggest dropping Rx and just going full bore on UW. You'll see why once you do it. There is a reason UW is the gold standard of q-banks and you will see your knowledge shoot up. Do them random, I always do tutor but if you want to do them timed then that's good too. I personally wouldn't suggest doing UW with selected subjects.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Have you done any of UWorld?

I never read FA. Not once. Zanki was my main study tool and then I used FA as a reference source (control F'ing a PDF version) going through practice questions from UWorld and NBME's. Rx simply does not present the info in the way you have to think about it, it's very much a FA minutia bank which isn't similar to UWorld or the real thing at all.

Perhaps others who have already taken Step 1 will have differing opinions. In my experience I found the time spent on Rx to be pretty useless.

I personally did all of Rx before UW and i think it really helped me learn FA. I think the reason Ive been doing well on UW blocks thus far and did better than I thought on my first NBME was because of doing Rx before and i havent touched Zanki at all. i have only used anki for bugs and drugs. Everyones different but I loved Rx and thought it was actually more challenging than UW despite some of the questions being written horribly lol. Anyways, thoughts on NBME 21? thought it was garbage and written horribly personally. Do you think 13-19 better than newer ones?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Anyways, thoughts on NBME 21? thought it was garbage and written horribly personally. Do you think 13-19 better than newer ones?

The newer ones were much closer to my real thing, particularly 23/24. I don’t remember much about 21 unfortunately, but the score wasn’t too far off of my real thing either if I remember correctly.

 

[Deecee2DO]

The newer ones were much closer to my real thing, particularly 23/24. I don’t remember much about 21 unfortunately, but the score wasn’t too far off of my real thing either if I remember correctly.

Damn really? 21 was hard af

 

[Professional Student]

It sounds like Rx is primarily for memorizing details of FA and does not contain the 2nd and 3rd order thinking that the best exam prep requires. Would Kaplan be the next best option after UW for this kind of preparation?

I am currently on pace to finish UW 1st pass + incorrects about 1 month before my exam date. I scheduled it this way originally so I could move my exam up by a few weeks if I was doing well (which I am based on self-assessments). This may no longer be possible with Prometric closings. I could do a second UW pass but since I'm on track for about 80% in the first pass will have redone all my incorrects, I think new thought-inducing questions would be more beneficial than doing questions a 2nd or 3rd time that I've already read the answers to in the last month.

 

[Ho0v-man]

Damn really? 21 was hard af

I thought they were all hard. 23 was basically a perpetual panic attack the entire time for me. It’s been a year and the nbmes were still imo the worst part about dedicated. Each one I took 20+ points under-predicted my score. They were nothing like the real thing for me.

UWSA2 and the free120 were spot on though.

 

[Ho0v-man]

To the OP:

I actually liked Rx for what it is: a way to make sure you know FA cold. I didn’t finish it but I thought it really opened up some of my weaknesses.

To anyone else:

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Me and AnatomyGrey12 both did pretty well in the end and we literally did almost everything the opposite from one another.

I went by section so I could watch B&B on the next topic I was going to do so I’d be ready for it in uworld. I loathed Kaplan but liked Rx and the disdain I harbor for nbme exams is well-described above.

As long as you’re not just picking a different route bc you don’t want to be challenged, then it’s appropriate. Don’t freak out bc what works for others doesn’t work for you. As long as you’re legitimately challenging yourself, you’re doing it right.

 

[Deecee2DO]

I thought they were all hard. 23 was basically a perpetual panic attack the entire time for me. It’s been a year and the nbmes were still imo the worst part about dedicated. Each one I took 20+ points under-predicted my score. They were nothing like the real thing for me.

UWSA2 and the free120 were spot on though.

Music to my ears lol 21 put my soul in a blender. Thanks for the insight!

 

[hungrydoc710]

It sounds like Rx is primarily for memorizing details of FA and does not contain the 2nd and 3rd order thinking that the best exam prep requires. Would Kaplan be the next best option after UW for this kind of preparation?

I am currently on pace to finish UW 1st pass + incorrects about 1 month before my exam date. I scheduled it this way originally so I could move my exam up by a few weeks if I was doing well (which I am based on self-assessments). This may no longer be possible with Prometric closings. I could do a second UW pass but since I'm on track for about 80% in the first pass will have redone all my incorrects, I think new thought-inducing questions would be more beneficial than doing questions a 2nd or 3rd time that I've already read the answers to in the last month.

You can do Rx or Kaplan first, then UW leading up to exam. You can't really flip it the other way.

You're better off doing UW again I'd say.

In about 2.5 months I'm hoping to do UW 2x thru leading right up to a day before my exam.
Might be a bit ambitious but I'm gonna try.

Edit - 80% first pass is pretty fire though bro, good stuff.

 

[hungrydoc710]

To the OP:

I actually liked Rx for what it is: a way to make sure you know FA cold. I didn’t finish it but I thought it really opened up some of my weaknesses.

To anyone else:

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Me and AnatomyGrey12 both did pretty well in the end and we literally did almost everything the opposite from one another.

I went by section so I could watch B&B on the next topic I was going to do so I’d be ready for it in uworld. I loathed Kaplan but liked Rx and the disdain I harbor for nbme exams is well-described above.

As long as you’re not just picking a different route bc you don’t want to be challenged, then it’s appropriate. Don’t freak out bc what works for others doesn’t work for you. As long as you’re legitimately challenging yourself, you’re doing it right.

I agree - Rx has allowed me to really know FA. On top of that, when going thru UW questions, I'll know what is or is not in FA, and that way don't waste time trying to cross reference sources. Having said that, I'm at 1700+ Rx questions done, but feel I'm better off moving onto UW questions by middle of this month latest.

Do people just review wrong answers on UW? I was always taught to review every question and every answer.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I agree - Rx has allowed me to really know FA. On top of that, when going thru UW questions, I'll know what is or is not in FA, and that way don't waste time trying to cross reference sources. Having said that, I'm at 1700+ Rx questions done, but feel I'm better off moving onto UW questions by middle of this month latest.

Do people just review wrong answers on UW? I was always taught to review every question and every answer.

I’ll say this just to be thorough. When you’re doing the question initially, you should read all the answer choices to make sure you know exactly what they’re talking about. So you’re reading the answer choices and not just saying “no not that one”. You’re saying “that one would be right if it was asking X”. Doing it like that is sort of like a first pass. I assume you already know that because, like me, you’re neurotic enough to have an account on this site.

What I liked to do was after a block I’d run through the questions really quick just to satiate my curiosity as to what I missed. Then ignore it until the next day. I found that if I just reviewed right then and there I was more likely to go “Wait, why’d I miss that? Oh bc I made a stupid mistake. Whatever.” and then I’d rush my review. When I took the day to forget what was going on in the question, I was much more likely to review properly and was more willing to review my correct questions as well. That’s just me though. Maybe you have better discipline, but I had to do it like this to basically trick myself into being more thorough.

Finally, while I said above everyone’s got their own way that works for them, I will say that if there’s any universal truth to this it’s this:

Review.

Every.

Single.

Question.

Every.

Single.

Time.

Full.

Stop.

 

[Deecee2DO]

It sounds like Rx is primarily for memorizing details of FA and does not contain the 2nd and 3rd order thinking that the best exam prep requires. Would Kaplan be the next best option after UW for this kind of preparation?

I am currently on pace to finish UW 1st pass + incorrects about 1 month before my exam date. I scheduled it this way originally so I could move my exam up by a few weeks if I was doing well (which I am based on self-assessments). This may no longer be possible with Prometric closings. I could do a second UW pass but since I'm on track for about 80% in the first pass will have redone all my incorrects, I think new thought-inducing questions would be more beneficial than doing questions a 2nd or 3rd time that I've already read the answers to in the last month.

New questions for sure. Definitely go Kaplan. I finished Rx. now doinh UW 1x plus incorrects then prolly half of kaplan and finish with UWSA1 and 2

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

What is your guys' strategy for reviewing the questions? Like do you just read the explanations and move on, do you make Anki cards of incorrects?

 

[Deecee2DO]

What is your guys' strategy for reviewing the questions? Like do you just read the explanations and move on, do you make Anki cards of incorrects?

If i got it right I just read the entire explanation and move on. If i got it wrong and it was a concept i didnt know I look it up in first aid and write in the concept. If it was a fact I add it to my fact memorization journal. End up taking 20-30 mins every night to review the journal which is basically like anki/spaced rep. Concepts dont really require spaced rep once u get em you got em usually (pathophys, phys etc)

 

[deleted600623]

Those who have taken Step already, what is your opinion on Kaplan's qbank ? I've got Rx and Kaplan going at the same time, using Rx for my current block and I'm doing Kaplan questions to do previous block questions on random. From what I've seen so far, Kaplan's questions are much better written than Rx (which might not be saying much) but I've also noticed that my percentages are higher on Kaplan questions vs Rx. Now that could just be due to me doing more questions or it could be better quality questions, I'm not sure.

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

Don't worry about Rx question percentages that much. I did 1/3rd of Rx in preclinical and got like mid50s percent correct. Started off Uworld in mid 50s and ended up in 70s-80s. Got early 250s on step so definitely doable. Of course if you're gunning for a 260+ you'll gave to give it much more time and effort...250 is top 16% whereas 260 is top 4%. Much harder.

 

[Amba]

I did about half of UsmleRx throughout 2nd year and had 69% correct

Nice.

 

[watermelon master]

Had 80% correct on Rx, the predictor on Rx put me at 257, 85% on Uworld, 269 on step 1. Used Zanki, B&B, Pathoma, Kaplan, Uworld. Did Rx alongside my courses when I was done reviewing the zanki cards.

 

[deleted393595]

Don't recall my q-bank performance vs Step 1, but can say from my experience with shelf exams that your q-bank percent correct or percentile does NOT matter. What matters is that you are reading the explanations for every question and making sure you learn the underlying concepts (and buzz words) for every question you get right and wrong.

Finished UWorld for a few shelves with around 65% correct and low 50-60s% percentile. Ended up getting 90th+ percentile on the real deal. Didn't do Anki. Just read the underlying outline books. Focus foremost on your fund of knowledge and you'll be fine

 

[deleted888443]

I think Rx is complete garbage to use for step 1 study, but it is ok to use for classes or if you want to learn FA. Its also nice to have done a previous qbank before starting uworld because they usually tend to test you on similar concepts, and there were questions that I got wrong in Rx but ended up getting right in Uworld because I had seen that concept before, but asked in a different way.

 

[hungrydoc710]

I think Rx is complete garbage to use for step 1 study, but it is ok to use for classes or if you want to learn FA. Its also nice to have done a previous qbank before starting uworld because they usually tend to test you on similar concepts, and there were questions that I got wrong in Rx but ended up getting right in Uworld because I had seen that concept before, but asked in a different way.

It's def not a qbank you want to do in dedicated at all, but leading up to that period before you hit UW heavy and on the side of your Anki and BnB system review, I think it's fire.

Like you said, you learn FA and it does help you when you do UW. I am experiencing that same thing right now.

 

[DameJulie]

kind of a random question, but is Rx or Kaplan a better Qbank for traditional curriculum’s M1?

 

[hungrydoc710]

kind of a random question, but is Rx or Kaplan a better Qbank for traditional curriculum’s M1?

I vote Rx, but a lot of that is bc of the ease of use of the qbank. It links you directly to the relevant pages, and you can annotate directly into your FA textbook from the explanation or any other source you are cross referencing.

 

[deleted600623]

I vote Rx, but a lot of that is bc of the ease of use of the qbank. It links you directly to the relevant pages, and you can annotate directly into your FA textbook from the explanation or any other source you are cross referencing.

I agree for this point only. If you’re wanting good questions to prepare you for doing more difficult qbanks like Amboss or UWorld, Kaplan is far better IMO.

 

[hungrydoc710]

I agree for this point only. If you’re wanting good questions to prepare you for doing more difficult qbanks like Amboss or UWorld, Kaplan is far better IMO.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter. Doing UW 2x thru is what needs to be hashed out here.
Whatever qbank you use to read thru FA, watch BnB, etc. is pre-dedicated as far as I'm concerned.

Dedicated should be a time for UW (2x) and crushing anki reviews soley in my opinion